Lynn Fulton, Maui Health CEO, was awarded the prestigious Pacific Business News Women Who Mean Business award for 2025. Presented annually, the award recognizes women making a significant impact in their industries and communities by excelling in both business and community leadership. A Maui Health representative shared, “Fulton has been at the helm since January 1, 2024, and is a transformative leader. Under her direction, Maui Health has made substantial strides in improving operational efficiency by fostering a culture of support, growth and development.”
Fulton has been leading hospitals, ambulatory sites, and related ventures in operations, strategic planning, finance, business expansion, and team development for over two decades. “I am incredibly honored to receive this recognition,” Fulton said. “I believe that successful leadership is rooted in collaboration and empowerment. I am deeply committed to the people of Maui Health—our staff, community physicians, residents and visitors to Maui County—and am excited to continue driving positive change in our hospital and community.”
Perhaps most significant has been Fulton’s commitment to investing in Maui Health’s workforce to improve internal culture and empower staff to reach their fullest potential. Within a few months joining Maui Health, she launched a comprehensive leadership development program, providing regular education, training, and resources for department leaders, supporting their future career growth.
Fulton is also dedicated to investing in local students’ success and working to stabilize Maui’s workforce with healthcare career awareness and training programs. Maui Health recently partnered with Maui Economic Development Board’s STEMworks™ program to organize 3 healthcare career exploration events at Maui Memorial Medical Center for 187 local middle and high schoolers. The students learned life-saving skills directly from healthcare professionals, including CPR, techniques to stop serious bleeding, and how to recognize a stroke. Maui Health staff also reenacted an emergency room scenario to show students the critical roles of every member of the ER team.
Maui Health is also offering a paid summer internship program this year. The program will offer hands-on experiences while providing an inside look at the vital non-clinical roles that support patient care. It is designed for college and graduate students who want to explore the healthcare field and those looking to have a career on Maui.
Maui Health provides a great opportunity for students to be able to build a career. There is nothing like seeing what happens in a hospital through interactions with the people who work here.
Lynn Fulton, CEO, Maui Health
Maui’s youth are taking center stage at this year’s Maui Matsuri Children’s Festival. The free multicultural events will take place on Saturday, May 10, at Queen Kaʻahumanu Center, and this year’s event will feature Maui Economic Development Board’s STEMworks AFTERschool program with students and teachers from across Maui County. The students will showcase a variety of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) projects through hands-on activities that honor both Hawaiian culture and STEM innovation.
Each STEMworks AFTERschool site will host a table featuring interactive displays and student-led presentations. Participating schools and activities will include:
Iao Intermediate: honoring Mother’s Day through a hula performance and tribute to Queen Liliʻuokalani and presenting projects in coding, entrepreneurship, and healthcare
Kalama Intermediate: hosting a special hula performance as well as robotics, art, 3D printing showcase, and optical illusion photo and video activities
Lokelani Intermediate: providing beaded bracelet activities and a showcase of digital art, interactive student video games, and 3D printed designs
Maui Waena: highlighting media and entrepreneurship student projects
Molokai Middle: showcasing native Hawaiian plants and agriculture, robotics
Pukalani Elementary: providing introductory STEM activities and robotics demonstrations
This community event is a chance to support local students and see the impact of the STEMworks AFTERschool program. Families, educators, and community members are all invited to enjoy the day, celebrate keiki, and be inspired by local STEM students’ talent and dedication to learning.
The festival will start at 10am, with other performances and activities including a Chinese lion dance, a cultural parade, a Bayanihan folk dance, and a wide variety of craft tables run by local organizations. For more information about the Maui Matsuri Children’s Festival, including the event schedule, visit https://mauimatsuri.com/. To learn more about the STEMworks AFTERschool program, visit https://www.stemworkshawaii.org/afterschool.
Community members are also invited to mark their calendars for the Maui Matsuri Japanese Festival, which will take place on Saturday, May 24 from 3pm to 9pm at UH Maui College.
As local, national and international communities navigate a changing energy landscape, the 12th annual Hawaii Energy Conference brings industry leaders together to offer solutions addressing the most pressing energy challenges of today.
Featuring ten dynamic panels and one Deep Dive session over two days, the program will cover topics ranging from utility-scale renewable energy deployment to community-based initiatives, and the economics and advancements of grid independence. Discussions will also tackle energy efficiency, sustainable financing strategies, alternative energy sources, job creation, training, and more.
Complementing the main stage discussions, the new Deep Dive session provides an intimate setting for up to 40 participants to engage directly with experts and explore complex issues like time-of-use rates.
The Hawaii Energy Conference offers networking and exhibiting opportunities to connect with key stakeholders, industry experts, innovators, policymakers and more. Join us on Maui to gain insights, share ideas, and collaborate on actionable solutions to building a sustainable future for Hawaii and beyond.
We are honored to have Governor Green join us as the keynote speaker at this year’s Hawaii Energy Conference.
Jacqui Hoover, Conference Chair and Executive Director and COO Hawaii Island Economic Development Board (HIEDB); and President Hawaii Leeward Planning
As part of Maui Public Art Corps’ Hui Moʻolelo project, which cultivates stories celebrating Maui’s history and culture, University of Hawaiʻi scholar José Barzola recently spoke with Sissy Lake-Farm, Executive Director of the Maui Historical Society (MHS). The free virtual event is part of an on-going effort by MHS to emphasize the importance of understanding and honoring the past for future generations.
Located in Wailuku, Hale Hōʻikeʻike is a museum of Hawaiian history owned and operated by MHS. The museum building, the Bailey House, is part of the history on display; it was built originally as a missionary house in the early 1830s. The museum boasts the largest collection of Hawaiian artifacts on Maui and gives a detailed description of the lives of ancient Hawaiians.
Lake-Farm explained, “The house and land reverted back to the Hawaiian crown but were purchased by the Baileys in 1850. Later, the house and Baileys’ sugarcane fields became part of the Wailuku sugarcane plantation. The MHS was established in 1951 and…Masaru ‘Pundy’ Yokouchi purchased the Bailey House in 1991 and donated it to the MHS. The Bailey House was placed on the National and Hawaiʻi Registers of Historic Places in 1972.”
With extensive experience preserving the stories of the island’s people and places, Lake-Farm explored the heritage and challenges faced by the Maui community in her discussion with Barzola. Covering ancient traditions to modern-day preservation efforts, she shared unique insights into the island’s evolution and how local history is actively being preserved for our youth.
“We offer a glimpse into the past through our extensive collection of photographs, documents, and historical records,” she noted. “Our archives hold the stories and knowledge that keep our history alive, providing a valuable resource for researchers, students, and anyone with a passion for discovering the rich heritage of Hawaiʻi.”
MHS hosts cultural and educational events throughout the year, including their upcoming Lei Day Heritage Festival on May 1. For more information on events and museum hours, visit online at https://www.mauimuseum.org. To explore the Hui Moʻolelo project and listen to online recordings of community discussions, visit https://www.mauipublicart.org/hui-moolelo.html.
“We are so happy to share our rich history,” Lake-Farm added, “Our archival resource center, museum gift shop, and the Chas Fisher Memorial Gardens of native and missionary-era flora and fauna, are open to all.”
MHS is committed to preserving and sharing Maui’s history with our local community, especially students of all ages.
Sissy Lake-Farm, Executive Director, Maui Historical Society
Bryant Neal, newly elected vice-president of the nonprofit Maui Arts League, is well-known across the island for his numerous accomplishments. Arriving on Maui in 1982, he immediately fell in love with the island. He eventually became a partner and vice-president of the Lahaina Printsellers, Ltd., where he became absorbed in original vintage maps and prints of Hawaiʻi. “The history of Hawaiʻi continues to fascinate me,” Neal shared. “After leaving the gallery I continued to share my knowledge and my collection through different venues.”
Today, Neal is the founder, director, and curator of Story of Hawaiʻi, a museum exhibit and gallery. A born storyteller with a degree in theater arts, he provides a historic depiction of Hawaiʻi through his travelling exhibit, with one of the largest collections of Hawaiian nostalgia and original maps in the state. Neal is often found at the Maui Swap Meet on Saturday mornings displaying and selling his affordable map reproductions. “I tell the story of Hawaiʻi using vintage maps and documents starting from Polynesian migration through statehood,” Neal explains. “It’s the chronological sequence that makes it an interactive and memorable educational experience.”
Neal is also known locally for his annual recitation of excerpts from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech at the Maui County building. “It’s important,” he noted. “Plus, every year new people get to hear it.” His community service work includes the arts as well. Neal is the founder and executive director of the nonprofit, Jazz Maui. He is passionate about providing opportunities for resident and student musicians to participate in high-quality jazz music education and performances through festivals, music clinics, and dance workshops. Every Sunday, Jazz Maui partners with Maui Ku‘ia Estate Chocolate in Lahaina for an evening concert through its Chocolate Laulima program that supports local nonprofit organizations. All the proceeds from the concert ticket sales benefit Jazz Maui’s music education programs.
Always busy, Neal is also on the Board of the South Maui Learning ‘Ohana. “The ‘Ohana was the beginning of the charter school movement in Hawaiʻi,” Neal said. “Additionally, at the Kihei Charter School there is an innovation building designed to share community events. Maui is one huge ‘ohana!”
Jazz Maui continues to fill the need for an after-school arts enrichment program. I am so grateful to all the musicians who serve as mentors for aspiring Maui youth and all those who support nonprofit organizations.
Bryant Neal, Founder and Director, Jazz Maui
